COMMUNICATING THROUGHOUT DE FERRERS SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE
principal@deferrers
Dear
Parents
This is the
half-term
when major
external
examinations begin. Year 11 are
on their revision programme, making final
preparations for important GCSE examinations.
Year 12 and 13 also start
important examinations
at AS and A2 level.
Our first ‘pioneer’ cohort
of International
Baccalaureate students
have taken their examinations and we look forward
to celebrating their results
in early July.
External examinations will
continue well into June
and, although not required
by law, Year 9 students will
formally take assessments
in English, Mathematics
and Science under full
examination conditions.
Parents of Year 9 students
will receive teacher assessments later this term.

The first cohort of BTEC National students to
complete the qualification here at de Ferrers
exhibited their work last night. It was a fantastic
show with work varying from Graphics to
Illustration, Fine Art, Photography, Textiles, Craft
and Fashion.
The students have all completed the course with at
least double merits. Most
students are off to university next year having secured
places to destinations like
Derby, Nottingham,
Sheffield and Lincoln on
BA courses varying from
Graphics, Textiles, Product
Design and Architecture to
Fashion.
Students who exhibited
were Coral Adams,

Congratulations to them
all and a big thank you
from their Art staff for
being such a delight to
teach.

We wish all the above students every success!
The recent Ofsted monitoring visit at our partner
school in Tamworth has
gone well and I thank you
all for your continuing support.

M A York
Principal

SCI E NC E W E E K 2 010 - S E E

PAG E

7

ICT
Tenth Annual
Technology Show Updates
Communiqu茅

Look out for the new website. This year we
will be hosting a visit from the engineering
team that built the Gold medal-winning skeleton bobsleigh, and some lucky students can
try the virtual reality bobsleigh run. We also
have animation workshops, the Stardome
Planetarium and much more.

We have been continuing to update and
expand our Frog VLE,
which is attracting
interest from other
schools all over the
world. Read about it
on our FrogBlog:
www.deferrerstv.com
/frogblog. We have
run surveys, started
peer mentoring
groups, posted the
sign language visual
dictionary and much

more. The 2010 election pages were very
popular with many students voting and giving their views. You
can now take part in
the VLE World Cup
pages.

Next term will see the
launch of our new-look
ILPs which have
impressed members of
Dove Voice and the
Student Council, as
well as our parent portal, allowing parents to
have access to data
on attendance,
assessment and much
more.

ART STUDENTS
SHOWCASE SKILLS
AT CONFERENCE

Nine Year 8 students were invited to showcase their
art skills and knowledge of the 6Rs at a Learning 2
Learn conference at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The
students spent the day working with two artists from
art company 驶Protean始 who specialise in recycled
leather, tin and plastics. The work they created was all
focused on the 6Rs- Resilience, Responsible,
Reflective, Relationships, Reasoning and Resourceful.
In front of a whole conference room full of teachers,
the students then gave a presentation about their
work and the Rs. All of the students were very confident, mature and friendly.
B R E A K I N G

A group of eight students from de Ferrers
were invited to represent the thoughts of
children and young people in Staffordshire
on inclusion and well being in schools,
alongside a small group of students from
two other schools.

Their contributions and
ideas have been
included in the poster
that has been developed by a professional
artist to promote the
new Inclusion and
Well-being 2010-2020
Strategy in
Staffordshire. Two
posters will be deliv-

ered to every school in
Staffordshire. The students from de Ferrers
feel that the poster
gets the views of
young people across
well and were pleased
to have had the opportunity to be involved in
the making of the
poster.

CommuniquĂŠ
This year's
Bronze Duke of
Edinburgh
Award candidates have
started their outdoor
activities with a training
weekend in the Peak
District. The weather
was excellent for walking. They also practised
tent pitching, rucksack

packing, then on
the second day
they planned
their routes for
the Practice
Weekend and spent a
few hours orienteering to
learn map reading skills.
Silver candidates take off
for their three day
Assessment Expedition
in June.

TRENT READING CLUB

Showing their enjoyment of reading with others
brought smiles all round as a group of Year 11
students met for the last time at Trent Reading
Club to receive gifts for their regular attendance
over the last two years. We hope that their enthusiasm for reading will help bring them success in
the GCSE exams.
Trent Reading Club runs
everyday in the Learning
Centre between 8.50am
and 9.10am and gives
students an opportunity
to make new friendships
as well as providing
enjoyable reading time.

They can select books to
suit their reading ability
and interests from either
the Learning Centre or
from home. This club is
supervised by the
Inclusion Support
Assistants at Trent.

CHINA Year 11 Young Designer 2010!
CALLING
Communiqué

I have been given a
once on a lifetime
opportunity by
accepting a place
at the Global
Young Leadersʼ
Conference, where
I will represent the
college and the UK.

The conference will be
held in China and so for
two weeks in July I will
be experiencing the
countryʼs unique culture
as I visit Beijing,
Hangxhou, Shanghai
and Xiʼan. I will meet
young people from all
over the world who have
also been nominated for
their potential leadership
qualities. During the
meetings we will meet
existing leaders in their
fields and we will discuss world issues with
them as we try to identify
the characteristics of a
successful leader.

On a personal level I am
also looking forward to
visiting The Great Wall
of China, the Laughing
Buddha at Ling Yin
Temple, the Terracotta
Army and, hopefully.
experiencing a Chinese
Acrobatics Show.

I feel very privileged to
be offered such an
amazing opportunity. I
hope to share some of
my experiences with you
when I return from this
exciting adventure.
Watch this space!

Jenny Heathcote Y12

Twenty two students were nominated this year for the Key Stage 4
Young Designer Award. Selected
pieces of work from each of them
was showcased on Frog and students from across the college were
invited to cast their vote to decide
the winners from each material area
within Design and Technology.

After a week of campaigning by the
nominees, the votes were counted and
the winners announced in the final
Year 11 assembly.
Congratulations to: Connor Elliott for
Food Technology, Sophie Donnelly for
Textile, Sam Johnson for Graphics,
Natalie Gould for Product Design and
Phil Tate for Resistant Materials.

Team Tanzania

Team Tanzania has
had another great
half term, raising
funds and planning
for the fast approaching expedition.
Race Night was a fantastic
success. Everyone had a
great time and the event
raised well over £2000
overall. The team would

like to thank all those who
helped out with the evening
and of course, the hoards of
punters who literally filled
Trent Hall!

The team members are
now working on final preparations for the project
phase. They have been in
contact with the local school
in Tanzania and are planning a range of projects to
do while they are out there,
including renovating classrooms, introducing recycling
measures and building a
play area for the children.
If you know of anyone who
can offer advice on play
areas or help out in any
way prior to the expedition,
please get in touch.

Once again, thank you
for all your support –
only fifty five days
to go!

Communiqué

PSFA

On Thursday 29th
April the PSFA
held a Fashion
Extravaganza and
Pre-prom Night on
Trent.

There were hairstylists, beauticians, florists, jewellery, accessories and shoes. Fashions for
the mums were provided by A
La Moda whose models strutted their stuff in the first catwalk
show of the night. There were
also tuxes for the boys, as well
as a split screen VW camper
van for transport to the Prom
parked outside. But the main
attraction was the beautiful
prom dresses on display and
on the catwalk. Students
became glamorous models for
the night – quite a transformation from the usual green blazer and skirt, white shirt and tie
at half mast. The boys also
scrubbed up exceptionally
well….. and then there was Mr
Griffiths, our new drama
teacher all the way from
Liverpool.

Mr Griffiths, Pace and Sam provided the introduction and a bit
of light hearted banter and then
the girls were escorted, one by
one, down the catwalk by the
boys. Photographs were taken
by Autumn House Photography
and displayed on the screen
behind within seconds of being
taken. The girls looked stunning in the gorgeous dresses
supplied by Beau Belles of
Derby. Absolutely fabulous!
Several of the stall holders

commented to me on the night
how well the students
behaved, how good the performance on the catwalk was
and how there was a lovely,
relaxed atmosphere to the
event.

Thanks to everyone who
helped out on the night including all the PSFA members and
Matt Mills who gave up a night
out to come and help and in
particular Mrs Chadwick whose
idea it was to run the show.
Thanks to our models:
Charlotte Bedoe, Georgia
Bennett, Tamsin Chadwick,
Laura Chalkley, Rachel
Freeman, Charlie Holland,
Priya Rai, Ellie Shaw, Louisa
Statham, Holly Upton, Ayrton
Cooper, Connor Elliott, Sam
Moorcroft, Alex Parker, Jack
Roberts and Mr Griffiths. A full
list of stall holders can be
found on the PSFA page of the
college website under the
Parentsʼ Menu
This was our last event of the
year. Keep an eye out for
notices about our Autumn programme of events on our webpage starting with our AGM
which is most probably going
to be held on Monday 13th
September. Full details will be
distributed at the beginning of
the Autumn term.
Have a good Summer and
good luck to all those taking
exams in the next few weeks!

Anita McLean

NB: For those who wish to have
a look at the photos taken on the
night please visit the autumn
house website:
www.autumnhousephotography.
co.uk and enter PROM on the
Client Login page.

STUDENTS’
WORK IS
WRITE ON

Award winning
Children's author Keith
Gray stepped into de
Ferrers as a Writer in
Residence this term,
helping thirteen students from Years 7 to
10 create their own
short stories.

Three days of intense
planning, style development and, finally, writing
were spent before read-

ing aloud to parents and
teachers the finished
work on the last afternoon.

It was not only a hands
on experience, but very
informative and useful
too. We'd like to thank
not only Keith Gray for
coming in and lending
his experience, but also
the organisers: namely,
the College librarians
and the English
Curriculum Area, as well
as the parents who gave
up their time to hear the
end result. Thank you!

Emma Woodhall 10.2

LOST
PROPERTY

Communiqué

Please could you ensure
that all of your childʼs
property is named in full,
as there is an increasing
amount of PE kit being
placed in the Lost
Property on Dove
Campus and students
who have lost their
belongings do not
always come and check
to see whether their
belongings are there.

Everything is checked for
names and returned to the student where possible. Should
your child lose anything please
encourage them to check in the
lost property or alternatively
feel free to come and look for
yourself.

The Lost Property was sorted
out before the Easter holidays
and there were thirty seven
pairs of trainers, ten pairs of
football boots, numerous PE
shirts, shorts and socks all
unnamed. These items have
now been kept as spare for use
in our PE department.

“I agree with Nick”
Interest in debating has
reached a new level after
the success of the Prime
Minister debates on television. Employers and
universities are constantly seeking candidates
with highly developed
communication skills.
Anyone in the current
Year 9-12 who would like
to improve their public
speaking technique or
who simply enjoy a good
discussion, should watch
out for the debating
announcements in the
daily notices in
September.

On Wednesday 24th
March, in only our second
year as a team, the
Debating Society got to
the final of the Burton
Cup in the first year that
we have competed in the
competition. We were

Day of Arts 2010

On Friday 26th February 2010 Art staff were
joined by the educational Art company ʻProteanʼ.
Students from KS3 worked collaboratively to create a large scale work of art that will be displayed in the hall.
Protean designed the work
to reflect the ʻ6Rsʼ that our
students are encouraged to
use when learning to learn;
reasoning, reflection,
responsibility, resourcefulness, resilience and effective working relationships.
The art staff were
also keen for the
artwork to focus
on ecological
issues and so
the entire project
was made using
recycled leather,
plastic and tin.

The design is
made up of
approximately
forty letters
(mainly the letter

R), but hidden amongst the
Rs are the words de
Ferrers. Around the edge of
each letter students
attached statements about
what the Rs mean to them
and how they use them in
their learning.

against a strong Abbot
Beyne (last yearʼs winner)
and our team of Antonia
McMeechan, Claire Wood
and Muhammed Ahmed
(all Sixth Form) engaged
in an interesting debate
about the subject “This
house believes that
Burtonʼs mayor should
have similar powers to
Londonʼs mayor.”

Both teams had some
good arguments even
(though the opposition
tended to go into talking
about New York when the

International
Visitors

On Thursday 29th
April, we were pleased
to welcome two visitors from Limoges,
France who came to
see how life in a large
British college compared to life in a
French school.
M.Rouay and Mme
Lestrade, Inspectors of
French schools, spent
the day with staff and
students. Both were

subject was actually about
Burton and London) but,
all in all, they produced
some good arguments. All
of our team members did
extremely well and a lot of
credit needs to go to them,
even though we lost by
three points (69-66). A lot
of praise is needed for Mr
Grady and Mr Thornewill,
without whom we would
never have got to where
we are today, a talented
and constantly improving
team.

Daniel Jones, Year 11

very impressed with
the college and their
welcome. They were
particularly impressed
with the positive relationships that they witnessed around the
college. Well done to
all involved for creating such a positive
impression.

Communiqué

INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS

SCIENCE
WEEK
2010

Would your family
enjoy introducing
someone from another
country to your way of
life?

The 15th - 19th
March was National
Science week and de
Ferrers students
were involved in a
number of related
activities.

First up was the "Design a
Space Alien" competition
where students had to invent a
planet and the conditions on it
before designing an alien that
would be well suited to living
on it. Some really inventive
entries were submitted by
Years 7,8 & 9 students. The
winning aliens showed a good
understanding of adaptations
and scientific understanding
as well as being fantastically
out of this world. The entries
will be on display on Dove
Campus.

Jour de la Francophonie
at Aston University

HOST is a national charity,
backed by the Foreign
Office, which has been
linking students with volunteer hosts for many
years.

During the week, the Nutty
Professors ran a "Great Egg
Race" where students had
twenty minutes and limited
resources to solve a problem stop an egg from cracking
after falling thirty centimetres!
Only one group successfully
completed a messy task, the
winners being Elizabeth
Lester, Tilly Inwood. Video
clips of the testing can be
found on the school VLE
under the Nutty Professors
page.

Well done to all the competitors and entries for
making the first de
Ferrers Science week a
success, and we hope it
will be bigger and better
next year.

There are international students from all over the world
at universities in the UK: they
speak English and most are
in their twenties.They would
love to spend a weekend
sharing your family life in
order to understand more
about the UK. You could
have fun introducing them to
British food, customs, your
local community and area,
and you could learn about
their country and culture.
This is an opportunity to
make friends across international boundaries.
Geography comes alive, and
afterwards, any news bulletin
about your guest's country
will have much more meaning.

de Ferrers
Specialist Technology College

On the 24th March 2010, ten Y8 students
were invited to Aston University in
Birmingham to take part in a French activity
afternoon. The afternoon began with an
introduction to the language. Then the students were split into three groups – each
representing a French speaking country.
While in the three groups, they each received
a talk on their chosen country by a native
speaker. A few biscuits later, a presentation
was ready to be presented in front of the rest
of the groups with the presentations being
judged by the Head of Languages at Aston
University. Prizes for the winners were mugs
and memory sticks. On the whole, the day
was an interesting experience, although Mr
Martin was driven mad on the way back!
Vicky Haward 8/5 & Meg Poxon 8/6

On the 18th March
2010 some of de
Ferrers students were
awarded Scholarships
for their outstanding
contribution to chosen
sport. The event was
held at Pirelli Stadium
and forty one scholar-

de Ferrers Sixth
Form complete
the double!

The de Ferrers U19 football team made it a double
celebration for the season
after beating Friary
College 3 – 1 in the
Staffordshire County cup
final. This adds to the success already achieved by
the U19 Basketball team
who also won the

YEAR 9
CLAIM
DISTRICT
TITLE

The Year 9 Football
team proved unstoppable in the District 7a-side Championships,
remaining unbeaten
throughout the whole
competition and not
conceding a single
goal in the process as
they won the competition in emphatic style!
In their qualification group,
the boys knocked aside
the challenge of the other
4 schools finishing top and
setting up a finals night

ships were awarded
covering nineteen different sports. Here are
the de Ferrers students
were awarded on the
evening -

The recent Spring
Concert, held on the last
day of last term, proved
to be a resounding success, leaving the packed
Trent Hall thoroughly
entertained. The evening
saw all of the college's
ensembles showcasing
their talents, from the
pulsating opening of
Holst's 'Mars', performed
by the Wind Band, right
through to Souled Out's
storming rendition of
'Jailhouse Rock' at the
end.

It was a somewhat poignant
event however, as this was
the final college concert for
our current Year 13 students, who have given so
much of themselves to the
music of de Ferrers over the
past seven years. Thank you
all and good luck in the
future.

We are delighted once again
to announce that DeFJO

have been selected to play
at the National Festival of
Music for Youth in the
Adrian Boult Hall,
Birmingham. They will
appear in the Schools' Jazz
Festival on Friday 9th July if you would like tickets so
that you can support the
band please get in touch
with Mr Aston as soon as
possible. Well done!

The final event of the year
will be DeFJO's performance at the Tutbury Music
Festival on Sunday 11th
July. This is an all day
event, held in the magnificent grounds of Tutbury
Castle and tickets are available directly from the
Castle. DeFJO are scheduled to appear shortly after
3pm for a forty minute set.
We look forward to seeing
you there!

Growing Leaders

Well done to the seven
teachers in Cohort 1
who have now completed their "Growing
Leaders" training.
Cohort 2 commenced
on 5th May with all
participants and
coaches attending
their first training session. The participants
have decided upon
a college project to
assist them in completing their course.